Duplicate bridge pad



March 31, 1953 M. K. cLlNE 2,633,361

i DUPLICATE BRIDGE PAD Filed Jan. .16, 1951 n s@ INVENTOR. E 3- 2f Y/ym/za am www Patented Mar. 31, i 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 3Claims.

My invention relates to an improved duplicate bridge pad.

In the playing of the card game of contract bridge it is often desirableto have a number of groups of four players playing the same hands. Thematter of arranging the cards and distributing them to the severaltables where the players play presents quite a problem, particularlywhere the parties are relatively large such as in club or associationcompetition.

It is the principal purpose of my invention to provide a novel pad orholder which can be utilized to secure the cards for each player inindividual groups and thus be prelled and laid on the tables at thebeginning of each hand of play. The pads may be refilled with the next.hand of play after the rst hand is removed and while the play of thei'lrst hand is taking place. The pad is so arranged as to provide foreasy marking to indicate the dealer and the relative positions oi theplayers so that the matter of supplying the pre-arranged cards to theseveral tables is free of disorder and provides little opportunity forerror.

More particularly it is a purpose of my invention to provide an improvedcard holding pad for the use of card players which lends itself readilyto the pre-arrangement of the cards and the placing of the cards beforethe players.

The nature and advantages of the invention will appear more fully fromthe following description and the accompanying drawings wherein apreferred form of the invention is shown. The drawings and descriptionare illustrative only, however, and are not intended to limit theinvention except insofar as it is limited by the claims.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a plan view of an improved duplicate bridge pad;

Figure 2 is a sectional view taken on the line 2 2 of Figure 1; and

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken on the line 3--3 of Figure l.

Referring now in detail to the drawings, my improved pad is made up of asuitable sheet material such as leather, Leatherette, sheet plasticcomposition or a suitable fabric. A square base sheet 5 forms the backof the pad. In order to a substantial distance inward from its peripheryand the bottom surface is an unbroken sheet. The next step in theproduction of the pad is to provide a smaller square covering sheet I0of the same material. This sheet has its peripheral edge turned in asubstantial distance and cut out at the corners so as to provide aperipheral portion of a double thickness and an intermediate portion ofsingle thickness. Since the peripheral edge portion II of the sheet I0is turned under, the edges where the corners are cut out do not need tobe sewed together. The sheet Il! is placed on the sheet 5 and the twosheets are stitched together along the lines I2 and I3 and in additionthe corner portions of the sheet IB are stitched down to the sheet 5 bythe stitching indicated at I4, i5 and i6. Then two rows of stitching Iland I8 secure the sheets 5 and I0 together near the center. Theresulting construction leavesfour open pockets at 2i), 2l, 22 and 23,the sheet material being double at the edges of the pockets as indicatedclearly in Figure 2.

The pockets 25 and 22 are relatively Wide and shallow so that they mayreceive groups of cards 24 and 26 with the long edge of the cardsparallel to the edge of the pad. The pockets ZI and 23 are somewhatdeeper and not so wide so that they receive card groups 25 and 2l' withthe short edge of the card parallel to the edge of the pad. The pocketsgrip the cards with suicient pressure to permit handling of the pad asit is iilled with cards without the cards falling out. The doubled overportions 5 and II give eXtra rigidity to the pad and further the holdingof the cards since they restrict the inlets to the pockets. Preferablythe rows of stitching I2 and I3, and Il and I8 are so spaced from theedges of the pad as to cause the cards when inserted in the pockets toproject slightly beyond the peripheral edges of the base sheet 5 of thepad in order that they may be grasped and removed from the pad withease.

It is evident that in preparation for playing of duplicate hands ofbridge or other card games, the several decks of cards can be arrangedin duplicate sets of four and each set of four can be placed in one ofthese pads in the same order throughout and when the pad is delivered toa table the cards will be in order to commence playing. For example, thepocket 2U may be marked as shown with the designation dealer and W forwest position. The pocket 2l will carry N to indicate that it is for thenorth position and the pockets 22 and 23 marked E and S for east andsouth positions. The portions of the pad dened by the seams I4, I5 andI6 may be numbered to correspond to a table number. As soon as the cardsare removed from a pad at a table, the pad may again be filled withanother set of cards so as to be available for the next hand of play,

I have shown the pad as equipped with a lback pocket 28 for holding thescore pad that is commonly employed. This pocket is fastened at one edge29 by the seam l2 while the opposite edge 353 is folded over andstitched as indicated at 3 l, the side edges of course being stitched tothe sheet 5 to complete the po/cket 28. This back 28, while useful, isnot necessary and may be dispensed with.

It is believed to be evident from the foregoing description that I haveprovided a novel and convenient means for the pre-arrangement andhandling of playing cards in groups Vfor such games as duplicate bridgeand the like. The detailed construction hereinbefore described isparticularly effective for the purpose intended and in holding the cardsin position in the pad. It is obvious, however, that various minormodifications may be made from the exact details lshown and describedwithout departing from the scope of the invention as dened in thefollowing claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

l. A pad for holding four groups of playing cards comprising a squarebase sheet of pliable material, a square top sheet of similar materialsubstantially smaller in size, laid on the base sheet so that the sideedges thereof are parallel to the side edges of the base sheet, thecorner portions of the smaller sheet being secured to the larger sheetby securing a rectangular section of the smaller sheet to the largersheet, each rectangular section being bordered on its two outer sides bythe edges of the smaller sheet to provide four pockets facing outwardlyfor the insertion of four groups of cards.

2. A pad for holding four groups of playing cards comprising a squarebase sheet of pliable 4 material, a square top sheet of similar materialsubstantially smaller in size, laid on the base sheet so that the sideedges thereof are parallel to the side edges of the base sheet, thecorner portions of the smaller sheet being secured to the larger sheetby securing a rectangular section of the smaller sheet to the largersheet, each rectangular section being bordered on its two outer sides bythe edges of the smaller sheet to provide four pockets facing outwardlyfor the insertion of four groups of cards, the outer portions of the topsheet being folded to provide a double thickness at each pocket mouth.

3. A pad for holding four groups of playing cards comprising a squarebase sheet of pliable material, a square top sheet of similar materialsubstantially smaller in size, laid on the base sheet so that the sideedges thereof are parallel to the Vside edges of the base sheet, thecorner portions of the smaller sheet being secured to the larger sheetby securing a rectangular section of the smaller sheet to the largersheet, each rectangular section being bordered on its two outer sides bythe edges of the smaller sheet to provide four pockets facing outwardlyfor the insertion of four groups of cards, the lower sheet havingperipheral edge portions folded inward upon the sheet and securedtogether at the corners to provide an edge portion of double thicknessfor the lower sheet beyond the periphery of the top sheet.

MURTI-LA K. CLINE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record inthe file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 742,730 Pierce Oct. 27, 19031,602,174 Schnur Oct. 5, 1926 1,657,898 Plew Jan. 31, 1928

